England vs Scotland Prediction: Salt to lead Three Lions’ charge

Defending champions England begin their T20 World Cup campaign in the West Indies and USA against Scotland on Tuesday (15:30).

I reckon the runs could flow at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, which is the rationale behind my England vs Scotland prediction.

Team News

England skipper Buttler leads a star-studded batting line-up which will also feature Phil Salt, Jonny Bairsow and Will Jacks.

In the bowling department, meanwhile, Jofra Archer is looking to nail down a regular spot after a year or so ruined by injuries and Adil Rashid is England's prime spin option.

George Munsey hopes to replicate his performances from the 2022 T20 World Cup for Scotland, having been their top scorer in that tournament.

Neither side has any injuries to report heading into their opening match.

England vs Scotland Odds

England are overwhelming favourites to win this T20 World Cup group contest at 1/16, with Scotland priced at 8/1 to cause an upset.

Buttler leads the way in the England Top Run Scorer market at 9/4, with Salt 5/2 and Jacks 7/2.

For Scotland, meanwhile, Brandon McMullen is joint-favourite with Munsey to be the team's top scorer at 18/5.

England Top Run Scorer - Phil Salt @ 5/2

Buttler is the obvious pick when looking for an England top runscorer selection in T20 internationals, but his opening partner Salt can be equally dangerous.

Salt top-scored for England in their final T20 match against Pakistan last Thursday, scoring 45 off 24 balls, and his six T20s for England beforehand featured totals of 40, 25, 109 not out, 119, 38 and 13.

He is pretty consistent at the top of the order and was also pretty devastating for Kolkata Knight Riders in the Indian Premier League earlier this year, racking up 435 runs in 12 innings.

With that in mind, Salt could be worth a bet to top score in this tournament opener for England.

England Fall Of First Wicket - Over 29.5 @ 5/6

Thinking along similar lines to the first selection, it could also be worth backing England's first wicket to fall after they have accumulated at least 30 runs.

Buttler and Salt are set to open the batting for England once again and they have put on first-wicket stands of 115, 117, 24, 25 and 82 in the team's last five T20 internationals.

Against minnows Scotland, that figure is likely to be on the higher end, especially at a Kensington Oval proving to be a happy hunting ground for batsmen recently.

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